Monday, October 08, 2007

Back in ChengDu

Back in ChengDu now. The vacation was very nice and relaxing. It feels like I spent most of my time eating... I had fajitas, burritos, pastrami sandwiches, steaks, Italian style chicken, pizza, BBQ pork, smoked turkey, oysters, crab cakes, Thai food, sushi, Chinese food, pasta, roast turkey, BBQ ribs, turkey sandwiches, pie, ice cream, cookies, etc... After some meals I was so full my stomach hurt.

One night we went out to eat and I met this lady named Crystal. She was very lovely and we seemed to hit off really well. I was hoping that we could get together, but unfortunately we did not get a chance.

My favorite meal was an early Thanksgiving dinner I had with my parents. We had roast turkey, mashed potatoes, stuffing with oysters, green bean casserole, gravy, cranberries, biscuits, white wine, and for dessert we had a cheesecake/pumpkin/pecan pie. It was all very delicious! We even had the Redskins/Eagles football game playing which my father had Tivo'd, and that helped make it feel much more like Thanksgiving day.

On the Saturday in the middle of my vacation I went to the Maryland Renaissance Festival with some friends. The weather cooled down some that weekend and it was a perfect day to go to the faire. We watched a few shows, visited a lot of shops, and did way too much chatting. I ate a lot there too... oyster shooters, crab cake sandwich with fries, smoked turkey leg, frozen banana covered in chocolate, and a few ales. It was great to see my friends in the Pyrates Royale too! I have not seen them in two years.

Greg, Lynn, and Les at a pub.

The Pyrates Royale play some tunes.

Johnny Fox prepares to swallow a sword.

A cute bubble maker.

The jousting field.

I flew out of Washington Dulles airport on Saturday afternoon, and arrived in Beijing on Sunday afternoon. Boarding the plane was silly as usual since, even though the plane is suppose to be boarded by sections, most of the Chinese just rush the gate as soon as the first group starts boarding. The flight was a little late taking off too since there were people who wouldn't sit down after they got on the plane, and the crew had to keep making an announcement in Chinese that the plane would not take off until everyone was seated. Anyways, I got to Beijing and went through immigration and customs without any problems, and then caught my flight to ChengDu.

The flight to ChengDu was a little late arriving (imagine that), and after a little confusion my driver and I found each other. I got home at around 9:00 and took a shower, and then I went and met up with Phyllis and her sister Jessie at a little teahouse near my apartment. It was great seeing Phyllis and Jessie... I had not seen Phyllis since May, and I have not seen her sister Jessie in about 2 years. We ate some fruit and drank some tea and chatted for a few hours. At about 11:30 we called it a night and I went home and got some sleep.